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Malang Trip

Last weekend, me and my friends were going on a trip together. I was actually surprised we were really doing this trip, because usually most of the time we were only talking about it, or planning about doing it but never really have it done, haha.. This time, it was actually do came true! I made this blog post, hoping that at some point, I could help you guys to have an insight about the places that we went to. Here are the guys that made it to the trip : @laurangelia, @hendrikpyong, @eatpointid, @triplebelly, @surabayaurbanfood and @indonesiafoodtraveller and please enjoy!

FOODIES MALANG TRIP

So it was eight of us (triple belly are three person), and we were divided into two cars, the first one contains eatpointid and triplebelly, while me and the rest of the guys were in the second one. The plan was to get together in one place at 07.00 am and then we go together, but the realization was quite different, each of us was picked up on our home, and I was also having trouble with waking up in the morning, so we met up at our first stop in a really off schedule, which was at 09.00 am, lol!

Starbucks at Rest Area (KM 26)

To tell you the truth, this is my most favorite Starbucks Coffee Shop so far! (and literally so far from my house too) The place is wide and big, the interior design and some of the chairs and tables are quite different from what I've been visiting in Surabaya. They got window glass for the perfect lighting to your coffee porn shot, a short table for your flat lay picture, not to mention about the painting on their walls, and let's not forget about the very clean and nice toilet! I wish they had one of these in Surabaya.

Because of the 'slightly' different realization from our first plan, we were two hours late, we also didn't realize that it was a long holiday and apparently, everybody were going to the same direction with all of us, so without any doubt, we were facing the traffic. Not a bad traffic actually, but all the way from Surabaya to Malang we were driving constantly in a traffic. :( If we hadn't stuck into the traffic, we would arrived in Malang in two hours drive, but that day, guess what? We drove for almost six hours! *cry*

TIPS IF YOU ARE GOING TO MALANG (ON THE WEEKEND)

- Make sure that it is not a long weekend, you better see no red mark on the calendar when you go!

- Woke up super early! If necessary, start driving when it's still dawn (at five or six in the morning) the point is, the earlier, the better.

- Stuff your tummy! (cereal, bread, or anything that won't make you starved on the road). Even better, stuff all of it inside your car as well, for prevention!

- Bring the biggest powerbank for your gadget, because on your way there, there are plenty of areas that doesn't provide signal, and your provider is going to constantly looking for the signal everywhere you go, and it cost you your battery supply. And if you got stuck in the traffic there, without even noticing it, you will most likely draining your phone battery. So, if you're using your phone GPS all the time for the direction, bring your biggest power bank. Why biggest? Because your friends might need it as well.

- Be prepared with stuff that will keep you clean and hygiene. Because traveler will most likely take a leak, and you'll never know what you might see on the public toilet, so me personally always bring a dry tissue, wet tissue, and an anti bacterial spray with me.

- Wear your most comfortable clothes, bring jacket or sweater if you know you might need it, or a pillow to forget the traffic, an MP3 with hundreds of your favorite music with different type of genre, and an umbrella just in case :)

Our Hungry Faces (different car)

At 2.30 pm, we finally set our butts free and it was never been that great to get our feet on the ground! lol. We picked this place as our first destination in Malang because this is the closest pit stop that we could 'attack'. We were really starving, and we didn't need any guessing about how good the taste of the food in here as some of us has already been there before. So without any further ado, this is

Bakso Bakar Trowulan

This is actually a grilled meatball with a very tasty sauce, and obviously it is very popular culinary destination in Malang! Some people don't like it, some like it, while the rest of them loved it! And I am one of the rest, haha.. Before this, I honestly stated that I hated the taste of the meatball and refused to eat it (2008) but earlier this year, I gave it another shot, and turned out loving it!

If you are together with your friends, divide the tasks! One must look for a seat, and one must do the order. The place could accommodate around 50 people, but sometimes, they can be pretty packed. If both tasks are done, simply take turn to grab your own bowl in the front, because they are not serving it for you. This is the second best thing about this place after the meatball, you can have unlimited noodle and the broth for free! Really! They are only charging you for how many meatballs that you order, and the drinks. :)

After eating savory food, we went to our second stop to find something sweet and also awakening! That's why we picked Java Dancer Coffee. But all of us didn't realize how small and how dark this place be (all of us didn't do any research before we jumped in to the trip, hahaha). They probably could only contains 50 person inside, and when we went there, the only girl we saw was only the waitress.

After looking around for awhile, then I realized why I only see guys and not girls in here. Aside from the tiny and dark place, people also come here for their famous coffee! The place is free for smoking and the price is relatively cheap, so maybe that's why. *am I making any sense?* They can go here for a meeting, working (they provide power outlets) or just hanging out with the guys. But phone signal is quite hard to catch, especially if you're sitting on the corner inside.

Fluffy Choco (26k)

Caffee Latte (25k)

I super love the chocolate and the marshmallow. The chocolate was actually not sweet, but the marshmallow is. So it was kind of a perfect combination. Plus it was raining outside, and that's all I need at the moment. A hot chocolate, with marshmallow (and a sweet companion actually, lol). On the other side, I also got an affirmation from my fellow foodies about their great coffee. So overall, we loved this place!

Ready for another foods to munch, we are now looking for a cute cafe with a nice interior inside. Fortunately, this cafe has it. A big space with a cute and nice interior design. Too bad we couldn't explore the outdoor area due to the very loyal rain that followed us the whole evening. Let's see what it looks like inside!

I didn't take all of the spot in here, due to their customer's coziness, I didn't want them to feel uncomfortable having me there taking pictures while they are eating. Besides, I'd rather to have my interior pictures clean from faces as well. But overall, I like every corner of this place. Suitable for young people. Food pictures friendly and also OOTD friendly, haha..

In the middle of our photo session, we got a new company coming : @ang_sonny. He's one of Malang Foodie and it was such a very nice of him making time for us, on a saturday night, going to places he had already been to before. *much respect for you* Thank you! And here's what we got :

Fried Poached Egg (45.7k)

Pizza Al Pronto (39,7k)

Green Tea Lava (27.7k)

Oreo Cheese (21.7k)

From all of the foods that we've tried, too bad not a single one of it met our delight. It was all edible, but nothing really stood up to make us say, "This is good!" or "I will definitely come back for this!". Their cake prices were quite reasonable though, haha.. To sum it up, we were not disappointed, but also not very pleasant. So, you can conclude yourself right? ;)

The journey wouldn't be completed if we didn't visit one old and authentic place that is one of the signature place to go if you ever have a trip to Malang. So most of the guys said, "Hok Lay". I have visited this restaurant before. I can't really say if it's a restaurant. The place is old, relatively small, and they don't serve many foods as long as I can remember.

People said that one you should try in here was their Fosco Drink (8k). It was a chocolate milk with a slightly salty taste in an old coke bottle. I never actually order one, I usually only take a sip from my friend's. It was good, but I'm not a fan of it.

Another one to try was their Lunpia Semarang. They said it is also the famous dish in here, but not everyone loves it. From eight of us, only four who ate the Lunpia. Not because they hate Lunpia in general, but this one is stuffed with rebung or bamboo sprout inside, a lot of it. Me personally also not really prefer this kind of snack, but I tried my best to finish one.

For our dinner, we picked one of the best semi fine dining restaurant in Malang (ps : they don't have any fine dining restaurant). Looking at the place, it was big, but in terms of interior, it's just like a very average restaurant. It was old fashioned, with the orange dim light. They actually tried to differentiate some part of the dining area, but to me, it's not really working, lol.

We were sitting there, and most of us were not having the appetite to take a picture of the place, nor the foods, because of the low lighting, the table cloth the wall, and stuff. But I'm still trying to get a picture at least for the foods. FOR YOU GUYS! hahaha.. Good reason, eh?

To be honest, despite all of the bad things I said above, they actually serve good foods, correction, great foods! Especially the Rosti! You all have to try it! <3 And I also love the Tournedos Floren, but because we asked for local meat, it become less pleasant. I'm pretty sure if they use premium beef, it would taste great! And here is our last selfie together in Malang :

Our last stop, has to be in a cozy place, with a nice interior, and also include yummy desserts! Our guy @ang_sonny then directed us to Terra Bistro Bar. In here, we were no longer with @eatpointid and @triplebelly, because they wanted to visit Ayam Sri and headed to Surabaya for another round of Nasi Cumi, so we parted. Meanwhile, I was still couldn't get enough of Malang. I really wanted to stay and explore more places, but my body and my eyes were actually pretty tired aready. That's why I insisted to stay and visit one more place before we went back to our lovely city.

TERRA BISTRO & BAR

Terra is a Bistro Bar above The Harvest. My first impression when I just got here was that I love how it looks from the outside. So modern and chic, a lot different from what we've been visiting the whole day. My tired eyes were suddenly wide open, I just can't wait too see what it looks like inside. Shall we?

When I came inside, it was really amusing! The place is wide and big, their interior is nice and the place is actually quite cozy. They got terrace if you want to sit and eat on the outdoor space. This place should be the 'Domicile' of Malang, but I was also wondering why it was not crowded on a saturday night. Is it not popular? Hmm..

Truffle Macaroni (65k)Chocolate Brownie (50k)

Chicken Cordon Bleu (70k)

After we ate and finished our dishes, then I knew exactly why it's not so crowded. The foods were average, quite pricey and the service have to be improved. I got an unpleasant surprise when I chew my Truffle Macaroni, I got a plastic, stranded in my mouth, wtf. And when I asked for an explanation politely to the waitress, all she could say was just, "Oh.. We're sorry for that.. *giggling*" Literally, only that! Double wtf. It's not that I couldn't be mad, I just choose not to. But that kind of attitude is really disappointing.